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WASHINGTON — Two ex-FBI officials were charged Friday for lying to Congress that they had little involvement in investigations into Hunter Biden — despite “helping shape the public narrative” around the troubled first son’s laptop, according to federal authorities.
The former senior bureau officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, self-surrendered and are facing charges based on a probe into their work on FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) during the 2020 election, DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel announced.
“Floris and Benavides allegedly lied to Congress about their roles in the FBI’s Hunter Biden investigations, with one claiming they only learned about it from Wikipedia – despite evidence showing their involvement in helping shape the public narrative about Hunter Biden’s laptop right before the election,” Pirro said.
“Floris led the FITF as a Deputy Assistant Director from mid-2019 through mid-2022. Benavides was the FITF Section Chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election,” added Patel.
“Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations. Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony,” the FBI boss said.
“Floris is also on record privately claiming to be ‘running a shadow government’ during the 2020 election in her role on the FITF,” he noted.
A source familiar with the charges said that they stemmed from transcribed interviews the ex-FBI officials gave to the House Judiciary Committee in July and September 2023.
Reps for the pair couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.